


A Million Shadows [4/10]

by balthesar



Series: A Million Shadows [4]
Category: Torchwood
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-09-02
Updated: 2011-09-02
Packaged: 2017-10-23 09:01:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,519
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/248570
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/balthesar/pseuds/balthesar
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>More than dreams ceasing or the sun rising through the mist over Cardiff Bay, Ianto's nearly pre-dawn appearance and a hot cup of coffee signalled 'good morning' to Jack's brain.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Million Shadows [4/10]

"Ianto? How's that coffee coming?" Jack leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms behind his head. More than dreams ceasing or the sun rising through the mist over Cardiff Bay, Ianto's nearly pre-dawn appearance and a hot cup of coffee signalled 'good morning' to Jack's brain.

"Nearly ready, sir."

"I want to be able to stand a spoon up in it." The last few days had been a pain in Jack's ass and those were never fun. Between having to clean up and cover up Morgan's untimely stabbing -- mostly on his own, thanks to his brilliant idea of giving everyone time off -- and mentally juggling the competing neuroses of his little team, Jack hadn't indulged in sleep anyway. 'Industrial-strength' coffee couldn't solve every problem for him, but it sure as hell went a long way.

Ianto set a mug down on Jack's blotter. "Drain cleaner, as requested."

Jack inhaled the scent deeply -- it was as though he could feel his synapses start to fire again -- and sipped. Savoring it, he finally noticed the pattern on the ceramic.

"Spice Girls?" he asked dubiously.

"I believe Owen was the one who brought it originally," Ianto replied with a mild expression. Jack snerked rudely. "I think his intention was to 'spice up his life.'"

With a shrug, Jack took another delicious life-giving mouthful. "Can't argue with that."

Ianto smiled a little. "I would've thought anyone working here would've had more than enough spice."

"Mm," Jack agreed thoughtfully. "... Speaking of spice, would you mind making another batch of the protein sauce? I don't know what Owen did to it last time, but I don't want to have to deal with a prehistoric predator with the aerial runs again."

 _He_ didn't want to deal with it? "Of course, sir," Ianto replied, sighing inwardly. At least if he made it right -- something he had thought a chimp could do correctly -- he wouldn't end up having to do all that mopping. Again.

"Good." Jack leaned forward, pulling a stack of manila file folders towards him. "Nothing like drudgery to start your day off right, is there?" he commented, casting a baleful look towards the paperwork. "You can leave your jacket and shirt over the chair there; no sense in getting all dirty."

"... Thank you, sir?"

***

Morning rush in Cardiff wasn't as bad as some places Toshiko had lived -- she remembered the crush of people in the Osaka subway and on the Tube, or the nightmarish month she'd had to drive into London daily -- but it certainly wasn't her favorite place ever. Sitting in stop-and-go behind an eternal red light, she fussed with her nails (buff and clear polish only; this job was hell on your hands) and her necklace (the shell pendant from last night, the souvenir from Mary).

Shouting from outside startled her; Toshiko hit 'pause' on the stereo. _A Brief History of Time_ ceased mid-sentence. She craned her head to get a better look at the commotion.

"Fucking traffic jams! God, I'd love to just rear-end your stupid sedan. Turn your sodding music down!"

Toshiko frowned. The shouting seemed to be coming from nearby -- the next car over, in fact. Barely ten feet away, a balding middle-aged man in a suit hunched over the steering wheel of a brown compact. A scowl was etched onto his face, twisting his mouth -- his unmoving mouth. Two thicknesses of glass separated Toshiko from the man and yet she could hear his tirade as though he were sitting in the passenger seat beside her.

She fingered the pendant thoughtfully. Jack should probably be told; either she was hearing things or there was alien technology to investigate.

... Still, no reason why she couldn't do some investigation of her own.

***

She shouldered her bag and crossed the boardwalk from the carpark towards the 'Historic Cardiff Walking Tours' office. Toshiko's head spun with the influx of worries, fears, private jealousies and joys and secrets of the crowd around the Plass.

A wiry businessman passed her. _Need to get home before Lisa does, to dress up. Gotta be careful, she's starting to notice her tights getting baggy around the crotch._ A well-dressed black woman crossed her path, twisting her ring. _Could bandage my hand. Say I shut it in the car door. That'd explain why the signatures don't match._ A blonde woman walked by with a smile, swinging her hips a little. _Six cigarettes today and all of them post-coital. Glorious._

The noise was suffocating, drowning. _Did I hit just 'reply' or 'reply to all'?_ worried a redhead in clicking heels. A young man with black hair and dark glasses had the Bond theme stuck in his head. _Ah, Mister Bond. I've been expecting you. I expect you to die._ Toshiko couldn't keep from staring at some or hiding a giggle behind her hand. _Some people should actually be prohibited from wearing a thong. What's that girl looking at?_

It was too much. Toshiko hurried towards the nondescript entrance, the bell jangling as she closed the door abruptly. Ianto glanced up from where he was sitting behind the curving front counter, working on the computer.

"Good morning," he said with a smile. _She looks harried. I wonder if she's heard about Jack's memo yet._ "The copies you asked for are waiting on your desk."

"Morning." She managed to keep a stammer out of her voice. The din of the crowd outside had died down and Toshiko was finally able to think clearly again. "And, uh-- thank you."

Another small smile from the young man. "You're welcome." _Hm. Lisa used to have a favorite shirt like that, the one with the lace around the top. ... Miss her. It still hurts._ "Can I get you anything else?"

"No, no--" Toshiko shook her head. "I'm fine."

Ianto nodded and turned back to the computer as Toshiko headed for the lift. _Need to finish this report. Bloody paperwork's always the most boring. But if the meeting goes well and quickly, I can check on Mum afterwards. Hope it's the same contact as before._

Toshiko frowned as the doors closed and the lift descended.

***

Gwen peered around the bank of screens as Toshiko dropped her bag by her workstation. "Hey Tosh," she greeted her with a smile. _Is that a hickey? I didn't know she had a girlfriend. Or a boyfriend? She never has photos around..._ "Did you see the memo yet?"

"No," Toshiko confessed, rubbing her neck a little and scanning over the sheaf of papers stacked neatly on the corner of her desk.

 _Probably a girlfriend. Except that no one seems to have a life outside of here..._ "Well, Jack's a bit cranky about it. He wants everyone to have their analysis and costing in by the end of the day." _Not shagging Owen, obviously -- she wouldn't put up with him, would she? And not Jack. I hope not Jack. Maybe Suzie?_

Toshiko blinked a little in surprise at the verbal and mental onslaught. "I, uh-- Not a problem. I'm nearly done already."

 _But that looks fresh... Maybe Ianto? I thought he worked late last night. Hm. Maybe I should ask her along to the pub. Girl talk and everything._ Gwen grinned a little. "Brilliant. That makes one of us," she joked, heading for her desk.

The voices were starting to give her a headache. Sitting down heavily at her desk, Toshiko touched the pendant. The shell was cool under her fingers. It had to be the pendant -- what else could it be? Did Mary know what it was, how it worked? She had to have -- no one could fail to notice such a gaping doorway into other people's thoughts. But why did she have it? Toshiko tugged the necklace off and rubbed the shell with her thumb. By now, surely, she should be able to tell an alien from a human. Yet, here was glaring evidence of her failure, alien technology that had fallen into her lap -- well, under her bed.

She dropped the pendant into her bag. Telling Jack wasn't really an option; all the company documents said that's what she should do if she discovered alien tech, but when was the last time she stumbled over a brand-new, undocumented gadget? When was the last time she got to be on the bleeding edge? It was Gwen and Owen who'd used the 'ghost machine', Owen that got to make all the new xenobio discoveries, Gwen who was getting all of Jack's free time these days -- even Ianto got more gratitude for _coffee_ than Toshiko got for administrating a computer system that was a century and a half old but still millennia before its time and which was half-intuitive, half-insane.

Fuck that. It was about damn time Toshiko got a piece of the action, the kind that didn't involve sitting in front of backlit screens. She'd get the information out of Mary at some point, maybe even suggest her for the team, analyse the pendant and _then_ tell Jack. Toshiko smiled to herself.

She should give Mary a call -- Toshiko wasn't sure if she wanted to confront her or shag her or both.


End file.
